Safety gas check before mortgage

societys_child

Normally one key fits all the installed windows. If there's only one key, you'd try it on all the locks to check.
Websites selling these keys, have photos which you can match online to the one you already have. Note, window locks are in no way high security and can be opened with just about anything.
When I've looked in the past, there doesn't appear to be many different variations . . .

davidmcn

Estelle77 wrote: »

Re window keys: I don't know which they are. And I assume that these should be obtained before the exchange of contracts, since the lender demands the house insurance to be in place at the time of contract exchange.

Then just tell the insurers that the windows don't have locks, and sort them out in your own time.

Estelle77

davidmcn wrote: »

Then just tell the insurers that the windows don't have locks, and sort them out in your own time.

Is that how you do such things in life? And when it comes to the claim the insurance will be invalid?

kingstreet

Estelle77 wrote: »

Re window keys: I don't know which they are. And I assume that these should be obtained before the exchange of contracts, since the lender demands the house insurance to be in place at the time of contract exchange.

Buildings insurance.

Not affected by window security.

kingstreet

Estelle77 wrote: »

Is that how you do such things in life? And when it comes to the claim the insurance will be invalid?

Only if enhanced security is a policy requirement and you say you have it, when you don't.

davidmcn

Estelle77 wrote: »

Is that how you do such things in life? And when it comes to the claim the insurance will be invalid?

Why would the claim be invalid if you've assumed in your proposal form that the property doesn't have additional security features? It's best to be conservative about such things until you're sure that you really do have 5 lever locks, a neighbourhood watch scheme etc. And until completion you've got no control over whether the sellers are using all the locks, setting the alarm etc.

Slithery

davidmcn wrote: »

Then just tell the insurers that the windows don't have locks.

I always do this, whether I have window locks or not.

A friend of mine once had an insurance claim rejected because some of the window locks had their keys left in them, even though the break-in was through the back door. Personally I'd prefer the extra few quid outlay on the insurance than risk a rejected claim.

Also as stated above it's only building insurance you need from exchange, not contents insurance so keys are a moot point here anyway.

ProDave

Re window locks. If you tell them you have locks, then forget to lock one, a claim might be refused. If you tell them there are no locks, then you won't be penalised if you forget to lock one.

I do not personally like the thought of risking a claim refused so I am firmly in the "no locks" camp.

Estelle77

OK, I was not aware of these insurance tricks. I have always been renting so far and not having any big possessions to worry about, nor living in a risky area to worry about security either. We just don't want to make a mistake. There were several points highlighted in the Home Buyer Survey to do before the exchange of contracts, and the gas and electricity checks were among them, in several places of the report.

chappers

I've seen this happen so many times with people buying houses.
Your willing to spend hundreds and thousands of pounds on a property and then get bogged down in the minutiae of a £1000 boiler or a couple of hundred quid's worth of window locks. You could have the boiler checked today and it could break down tomorrow and not be anyone's fault.
That said view the house as many times as you want, if the vendor wants it sold that's what they will have to put up with